


Ebb and Flow

by StAnni



Category: Gotham (TV)
Genre: Angst, Complicated Relationships, F/M, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-06
Updated: 2019-03-06
Packaged: 2019-11-12 21:17:05
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,104
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18018608
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StAnni/pseuds/StAnni
Summary: His heart keens and he is unable to answer her – so he answers her in another kiss, and another, and another.  It is more desperate this time and perhaps it is because of the type of night they are having, or perhaps it is because they are finally, finally moving towards something new.  Even if it is just for tonight.





	Ebb and Flow

“I hate this apartment” Selina says as she takes off her jacket. 

It is the jacket he bought her four years ago when she turned eighteen. Now it is worn at the elbows and there is a tear on the left sleeve – probably made by either a knife or a barbed fence. He takes the jacket and folds it over the back of his new couch – black and plain. The couch that Alfred hates.

“You say that every time.” He says and she turns, sitting on the back of the couch, her boots dusty and leaving small trails of gravel and dirt on the white tiles. “I mean it every time” she answers as she shakes her hair free from the hoodie that she pushes down. In many ways she is still the same restless sixteen year old – the threat of fight or flight always right there, beneath the surface of her green eyes.

This time it has been two and a half months since he last saw her and there is a lingering hostility to her that she dragged back with her form wherever she went. 

But he is used to her, to how things are, and he goes with it – having learnt the hard way not to get defensive or upset. 

“Drink?” He asks and she perks up a bit, just a slight bit, when she answers “Do you still have that fancy beer?” It is not fancy by a long shot. It is some Belgian kriek he once got from a client years ago and that Selina took a liking too. He now stocks it. Just for her. “Maybe.” He says and goes to the kitchen to retrieve it. He can’t stand the stuff but around her he makes himself drink it.

When he gets back she has made herself comfortable on his new couch, her boots discarded in a heap on the floor and the baby white soles of her feet resting softly on the black material. “Alfred must hate this couch.” She says and he nods, handing her the beer. Her fingers are soft where they meet his to take it. “Do you?” and she nods, all too eager. “It’s ugly.” 

He sits down next to her and she moves her feet to his legs. “It’s minimalist.” He explains but she raises her eyebrows in a short “oh”, meaning that she couldn’t care less. “I think I got a sunburn.” She says and that is her way of saying she’s been South. 

She pulls her black shirt down a bit and shows him the pink shade of her naked shoulder. With her calves close to his groin he moves a bit, not wanting her to feel the bulge stirring there. “I’m sure I have some after-sun around here.” He says, gently running a finger on her warm skin. She smiles at him in a way that is inviting and he takes the chance to pull her closer for a kiss. It is light, as confusing as ever, and when she leans back her eyes are slightly distant again. She moves her legs away from him but leans into his shoulder as she sips her beer and when he puts his arm around her she doesn’t move away.

They have been on the cusp of every type of relationship and have pretended at everything else. For a year they even lived together and Bruce became so enrapt in the whole thing that he was ready to propose. They have been together, and apart. They have been exclusive and entirely open. In the fifteen years that they have known each other they have never been defined. 

Tonight she seems removed and when she gets like this Bruce feels the most unsure. There are nights when she simply comes by to fuck – when she meets him with hungry kisses at the door or crawls into his bed. And there are nights when he simply wants to fuck – when he tips her chin up to him as he pushes her down on the nearest flat service. 

There are nights when they speak the exact same language and nights when they both are filled with explosive frustration and anger – when they hurl insults at each other and when the actual scars of their physical altercations sear with unresolved pain and hate, spurring them on. 

Then there are nights like these – the nights when they are both so cautious and circling. These nights of limbo in between makes the loneliness feel like a physical ache and he actually considers calling an end to this, if it is not going to lead anywhere. 

“You should come with me, next time.” She asks, because she does, sometimes, ask – even if he always declines. “I can’t leave Gotham” He says, like he always says and she smiles, like she always smiles, just a bit amused, just a bit sad. “You’re going to die in Gotham, Bruce.”

He will die in Gotham. That is a fact as certain as death itself. But he doesn’t say anything else.

Her lower lip is wet from the beer and instinct takes over as he leans in again, this time pulling her to him firmly and opening his mouth on hers. She doesn’t pull away and returns the kiss breathlessly – her tongue tasting of tangy strawberries. He breaks the kiss for just a moment, for just a glance at her face and she is there with him – in the moment. “You know you’re the only reason I still come back, right?” She says and it is precious in its sincere and unusual vulnerability. 

His heart keens and he is unable to answer her – so he answers her in another kiss, and another, and another. It is more desperate this time and perhaps it is because of the type of night they are having, or perhaps it is because they are finally, finally moving towards something new. Even if it is just for tonight.

Afterwards Selina has her naked shoulders to his chest on the couch, and her her hair, so much longer these days, is a soft cool cloud against his bicep. He can feel her lashes move against his skin and he pulls her closer to him. – their bodies damp with sweat. 

“I wish you’d come with me, Bruce.” She says again, and her voice is quiet – lost. He doesn’t want to give her the answer that she knows he will give her, not now, not after their night, so he closes his eyes and pretends to sleep. She doesn’t ask again and a few deep breaths later, they both fall asleep.


End file.
